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Insurance
Updated : 12/2012
Validity
I'm living in another EU country
Your car insurance in your new home country
You must register your car in the country where you normally live.
When you register, you will have to present proof that you have insurance cover.
The authorities should accept insurance cover from any insurance company:
- based in that country or with an office there
- without an office in that country but authorised to provide services there.
You will have to check with your insurer whether your current contract will be valid in the country you are moving to.
Buying new insurance abroad
If your current contract is not valid in the country you are moving to, contact the national green card bureaus / information centres to ask which insurers offer car insurance in that country.
Claims history
You can ask your insurer at any time for a record of any claims you have made. They must provide this within 15 days of your asking.
But if you have to take out new car insurance in another EU country, the new insurer is not obliged to take account of your previous claims record (and any reductions it might otherwise make you eligible for) when calculating your premium.
It is likely that some insurers will consider your claims record though, so it is worth shopping around.
Sample story
Is my insurance from home valid here?
Lazlo, who is from Slovenia, moves to Britain, bringing his car, for which he has a standard Slovenian insurance policy.
Once in Britain, he'll need to contact the authorities to register his car and find out if he can drive his car there on his Slovenian insurance. If not, he'll have to take out new insurance in Britain.
I've got a good driving record at home. Why is the insurer abroad charging me a higher premium?
Rosa is from Italy and recently moved to France. She had been driving for 10 years with no claims and so the premiums for her Italian insurance were relatively cheap.
Several French insurers refused to consider Rosa’s driving record in Italy, so she shopped around until she found one who would, enabling her to obtain insurance at a lower cost.
Footnote
In this case, the 27 EU member states + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway